Abstract:
midland zone 1 (UM1) also referred to as tea zone. Kavutiri area in Embu County is
composed of mainly small-scale farmers. Small-scale farmers often leave their land
fallow when they became very unproductive. Kavutiri soils have overtime developed
high acidity levels ranging between pH 4.2 and pH 4.6. Soil acidification disrupts
biodiversity due to saturation and consequent toxicity of elements such as aluminum
and manganese and unavailability of nutrients such as phosphorus, magnesium and
calcium. Proper liming ameliorates soils by replenishing soil base cations and
reducing soil acidity. However, the response of biodiversity to liming in Kavutiri was
not known. There was therefore a need to investigate the impact of liming on
biodiversity. This was done by characterizing the physical and chemical changes of
acidic soil resulting from liming, established the frequencies of flora and fauna
species resulting from soil liming and finally determining the relationship between
soil liming and biodiversity in acid soil.
The site was identified within an area previously left fallow for two seasons in
Kavutiri area, Embu County. Vegetation and debris on the land area measuring 32 m
x 28 m were cleared. A randomized complete block design with four blocks and four
treatments per block was laid out. The treatments comprised rates of lime which
were as follows; 0 (L0), 2.4t/ha (L1), 6t/ha (L2) and 8t/ha (L3). The lime was applied
mixed into 0-15 cm depth of soil. . Since lime react very slowly (Smith et al., 1994),
five months reaction period was allowed. The plots were weeded in the 5th and 11th
